Epiphany
by Everwood89
Summary: Takes place after Julia's death; Ephram takes a turn for the worst.....FINALLY an UPDATE! Please read and review!
1. Default Chapter

"Whoa, how about we call it a night?" Matt said taking Ephram's drink and pouring out a little down the drain.  
  
"What for? I mean, come on man, I just got started." Ephram slurred from his spot up on the counter, watching some of the liquid content go down the drain pipe.  
  
"You just got started like three hours ago man." Matt said looking at his watch.  
  
"Well then I didn't just get started per se," Ephram said struggling with his words and swaying ever so slightly to a silent tune.  
  
"True, but you've met your limit…" he said trying to be polite about the fact of Ephram being drunk.  
  
"Aw, come on, how do you know that's true?" Ephram said poking Matt in the shoulder.   
  
"Tell me this, how many little red plastic-cup-fulls of whatever the hell they're serving have you had?"   
  
"These cups are red? Would have never known…."  
  
"Come on wise crack,"  
  
"Just a few."   
  
"I've seen you at the tap about a dozen or more times smart ass. Come on, let's try some water for a change." the sober boy said filling Ephram's cup with water mixed in with a bit of the alcohol. Maybe he wouldn't be able to taste the difference.  
  
"I like the red cup special better…"Ephram said dubiously.  
  
"I like the no-puke-in-my-bed special from you but we never agreed." Matt said pouring out all the liquid from the cup. Ephram watched numbly as his only relief from his grief swirled down the drain.  
  
"You know what, I'm leaving." he said hoping off the counter top shakily.  
  
"You do that," Matt said, tired of the petty little argument they were having even though Ephram has been there numerous times for himself.  
  
"Fine I will, see ya later." Ephram said walking off into the direction of the door.  
  
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That's just a little tangent of what the first chapter is to be; I just have to go to bed now because I'm sleepy and I wanted to submit something by tonight. So, here goes that something; please be kind and review, it'll only get better from here! The rest will be posted tomorrow! And REVIEW!  
  
Carla 


	2. I'll Wait

"What the hell was all that for?" I questioned my brother, Matt ,as Ephram left.

"What do you mean what the hell was that for?" Matt asked me.

"You letting him go off like that. And lighten up," I said, remembering all the times Ephram and I have had to coax a drunken Matt back to the apartment.

"Lighten up? He said he wanted to leave." he said.

"And you know if he leaves, he'll go back home drunk."

"Yeah, so that'll teach him a lesson." he said selfishly.

"That's not the point. His mom just died Matthew. Don't you get it?" I said angrily.

"No, no Dulcie since we're still arguing about this shit I obviously don't. Please, enlighten me, what is this point I'm ravenously still trying to get?" he said sarcastically.

"You know what, forget this. You stay here and act like your head is half way up your ass and I'll go get him." I spat angrily at him, snatching Ephram's forgotten jacket off the counter top.

"Fine by me," he said over sarcastically as I walked off towards the door.

__________

"You looking for something?" I asked Ephram as I walked up behind him. His arms were wrapped tightly around his torso and his breaths came out in little, laborious puffs.

"Good one," he commented.

"You forgot you're jacket inside." I said handing him his wool 

"So, that's what I was looking for, thanks." he said as he took it and put it on.

"No problem," I said smiling warmly at him.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, I'm gonna go crash." he said pointing down the sidewalk at an oblivious direction.

"Home. Is where the heart is?" he said doubtfully.

"That's true but why don't you come with me? I mean, we can hang out or something. Watch a movie, whatever." I said trying to sound casual in my coaxing of him to come with me.

"A movie?"

"Yeah, a movie. We got a ton and we can watch something if you wanna or we can just talk." I said slipping my hand into his and walking with him down the sidewalk in the opposing way he was originally going.

"I don't wanna talk. I'm tired of talking." he said stopping dead in his tracks, making odd hand gestures and blinking his eyes rapidly afterwards.

"That's okay, we don't have to we can just watch a movie."

"You're not taking me home are you? I don't wanna go home. It hurts to go home." he said. It was almost like he wasn't completely plastered while he said that. I could see it in his eyes that he was actually more there than it had seemed.

I opened one of our big side doors just a crack so we could slip in without letting all the warm air out. Rory was lying half asleep in our big plush oversized chair with our dog, Max, lying half on him.

"What's he doing here?" Rory asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes slowly.

"He's a little drunk and needs a place to stay." I told Rory quietly. "Just go on back to sleep, I'll see you in the morning." I said stepping away from Ephram for a minute and rustling Rory's hair warmly.

"Hey, watch it, took a long time to make it look this way." he said trying to fix his hair back out even though he seemed to already to have a slight case of bed head. Ephram had busied himself with trying to balance himself with his hands out at his sides - on both feet that is. It's amazing how completely different people can be when they are sober and when they are drunk. 

"Yeah right Rory. Go on up to bed." I said smiling at him.

"I will, I will." Rory said walking back up the stairs relentlessly with Max right behind him.

"You can sleep here for tonight," I said, opening up the door to my bedroom.

"Are you sure Matt doesn't mind?" he managed to slur out.

"Yeah, it won't matter."

"Alright," he said taking up one of the pictures on my nightstand and looking at it with curious eyes.

"It's our dad…."I mumbled. 

"Ohh," he said after a few minutes "I'm sorry," he said clearly then looking into my eyes.

"So I am I,"I said putting it back down gently. "Alright well, I'm going to make some tea, call me if you need anything." I said backing out of my room and closing the door leaving just the tiniest bit ajar.

As the tea kettle came to a consistent boil, I got out a mug for myself and one for Ephram and the tea bags. Filling my mug with hot water, I reached back and got another one for Ephram.

"Hey, I got you some tea and we can talk if you want to." I told Ephram in the dark. He didn't stir on the bed a bit. I crept over to the side that he was lying on and peered at him intensely in the dark. He was asleep; his eyelids fluttered wildly but they didn't open.

"Or we can just sit here; I'll wait." I said as I pulled his Pumas off gently and pulled a sheet up on him. Settling myself into a chair pushed into the corner beside my bed I pulled my legs close to my chest and sipped my tea in the dark, the tiny bit of moonlight reflecting off of my skylight and onto Ephram's face, lighting it up luminously. He looked troubled still as he was asleep but was more at ease that he ever would be for the short paced weeks to come. "I'll wait as long as it takes," I said in the dark, watching him sleep soundlessly.

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God it took forever to get all that out. I've had so many study guides, Kennedy On Stage practices, exam preparations, and exams themselves that I had to drop something. So sorry for the long wait. I can definitely promise you that the next chapter will be out waaaay sooner than this one took. And since Winter Break is coming up, I'll be updating might frequently because I'll have no more KOS practices or stupid Semester Exams. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And remember the following equation:

***the more reviews Carla gets + a nice long winter break = MORE and LONGER chapter updates!!!

^^easiest math you can ever take by the way but anyways read and review please! ; ) Carla


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